The Dispatch E-Edition

All current subscribers have full access to Digital D, which includes the E-Edition and
unlimited premium content on Dispatch.com, BuckeyeXtra.com, BlueJacketsXtra.com and
DispatchPolitics.com.
Subscribe
today!

CC Sabathia and his crooked cap leave Cleveland the same way they found it, without a World
Series title.

From that standpoint, trading the lumpy left-hander to Milwaukee for one promising prospect and
some throw-ins is no fatal blow. In his own way, Sabathia was no different from other Indians
All-Stars who left town without bringing a championship to a city starved for one.

Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome all got Cleveland in the door, but that door was the
revolving variety, and instead of exiting on the other side they ended up where they first entered:
great stats with no team title to show for it. So it is with Sabathia, who will try to turn the
Brewers into playoff participants for the first time since 1982.

Certainly, the Indians were better with Sabathia, Belle, et al. than without them, but even with
better players the Tribe wasn't the best. And being the best is all that matters in northeastern
Ohio.

Cleveland doesn't compare with Boston or New York when counting professional sports
championships in the past 50 years, but it does compare with those cities in level of expectation,
with a twist.

Because of their championship pedigree, nothing but a title will suffice for fans of Boston and
New York teams. Because of their sense of frustration and futility, nothing but a championship will
do for Cleveland fans, whose fate is never to be satisfied with
almost winning it all.

Fans from Chicago, St. Louis and Miami, who have recent championships to fall back on, can live
with their teams being mere contenders. Not in Cleveland, where coming close (Browns in 1986-87;
Indians in 1995 and '97; Cavaliers in 2007) only prolongs the pain.

Sabathia was the team's ace, but a wary eye has been cast on him since his meltdown in last
year's postseason, particularly in the American League championship series against Boston when he
posted two losses and a 10.45 ERA in 10 innings. Even an optimistic Indians fan will admit to
uneasiness about Sabathia's inability to pitch well on the biggest stage.

Cleveland's clamoring for a championship aside, the Indians had little choice but to trade the
reigning American League Cy Young winner. Not only was Sabathia going to be a free agent at the end
of the season, but he declined to negotiate with the Indians this summer, a signal that he wanted
more money than Cleveland likely would offer.

If there is an ominous message here, it's not that Sabathia is gone but that it would appear he
wanted to be gone. Cleveland simply is not a first-choice destination for free agents. The
27-year-old rejected a four-year, $72 million extension during spring training; that's plenty of
cash for anyone wanting to stay put.

So general manager Mark Shapiro made what he felt was the best deal, getting prospect Matt
LaPorta and two lesser minor-leaguers in pitchers Rob Bryson and Zach Johnson, as well as a player
to be named. Was it enough? Of course not, but it was better than what Cleveland would get if it
didn't make a deal before Sabathia skipped via free agency.

LaPorta, a 23-year-old left fielder rated as the Brewers' top prospect, packs some pop. Entering
last night, he led the double-A Southern League with 20 homers and fills a need in Cleveland's farm
system, which is low on power hitters. Indians fans can be forgiven, however, for not getting
overly excited about the right-handed hitter, having been burned by stellar reports on other
prospects, including Andy Marte, a can't-miss phenom who arrived via trade with Boston and has
bombed.

That said, this move should not be viewed as a catastrophe. The Indians still have Fausto
Carmona, as well as Cliff Lee, and Jake Westbrook. They might not pitch the Tribe to the Promised
Land, but then neither did Sabathia.